CTA to test late-night Purple Line Express train

A rider disembarks at the Linden "L" station on the final northern stop on CTA's Purple Line in Wilmette. The CTA said it will test a late-night Purple Line train into the Loop.

A rider disembarks at the Linden "L" station on the final northern stop on CTA's Purple Line in Wilmette. The CTA said it will test a late-night Purple Line train into the Loop. (Keri Wiginton)

Tracy SwartzRedEye

After years of riders asking to extend Purple Line Express service beyond morning and evening rush hours, the CTA will be testing a late-night train this summer, the transit agency officials said this week.

Expanding the hours for Purple Line trains traveling to and from the Loop was one of the top suggestions mentioned in an Evanston transit survey last year, when residents were asked what would make them ride public transit more. CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said the extra Purple Line service would benefit both commuters heading into and out of the city.

"The purpose of adding the trip is to provide customers who work in Evanston more options for their evening commute back into the city, as well as Evanston residents who work in the Loop and may want to spend the evening in Chicago before returning home via the CTA," Chase said in an e-mail.

The six-week pilot, which will cost $7,000, will run June 1 through July 10, Chase said. The proposed new Purple Line train would leave the Linden stop in Wilmette at 8 p.m., arrive at the Clark/Lake Loop station at about 8:50 p.m., and return to the Linden station just before 10 p.m., said Ylda Capriccioso, assistant to the Evanston city manager.

For most of the day, the Purple Line operates between the Linden stop and the Howard stop in Rogers Park.

During morning and evening rush hour, the Purple Line extends south of the Howard stop into the Loop. Express trains run nonstop between the Howard stop and the Belmont stop in Lakeview, and continue onto the Loop and back up to the suburbs.

The extra service may give Matthew Rossi extra incentive to stay late at work this summer.

When he's done with work for the evening, Rossi typically takes a Purple Line train from his Loop office home to Lakeview. But when he works late, he tends to walk an extra 10 to 15 minutes to pick up the Red Line or Brown Line because Purple Line trains only operate in the Loop during rush hour.

"I would use this service if they offered it later because I am in the office late enough where it would definitely be helpful," said Rossi, 25.

The city of Evanston is planning a publicity campaign to promote the new service, Chase said. The CTA figured out more than 460 people would have to ride the train to make it financially feasible to continue the service past the six-week pilot, Capriccioso said.

The Purple Line logs 10,200 rides on a typical weekday, according to CTA data.

Jesse Briggs, who lives in Rogers Park and works at a restaurant in Evanston, said he would definitely use the new train, especially to visit Boystown on his days off from work.

Still, Briggs said he wished the CTA would invest more in the current system to reduce delays and slow zones. A slow zone is a section of track where CTA trains travel less than 35 miles per hour because of construction or track conditions.

About 25 percent of Purple Line track was under slow zone in January, the highest percentage of slow zone track systemwide, according to CTA data. The CTA is working on a project to reduce slow zones on the track the Brown and Purple Line share on the North Side.

"The [CTA] needs to make a smooth-running operation throughout the day," said Briggs, 33.